Man jailed again for child abuse images

A MAN who started downloading indecent images of children just 16 months after he was released from prison for similar offences is back behind bars.

Brett Saunders, of Beaulieu Close, Toothill, had thousands of pictures and movies of child abuse on his computer which he was banned from owning.

The 40-year-old was caught after an investigation by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre into a website where ‘bespoke’ images of abuse were made.

Rosie Collins, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court the site could only be accessed by prior knowledge and involved having specialist software downloaded.

“It was a site were movies were effectively being made to order: bespoke movies,” she told the court, adding there was no indication he had been involved in ordering abuse.

They traced one of the users to Saunders and arrested him at his home in Swindon in September last year. When they searched it they found a laptop, a hard drive, two thumb drives, and a mobile phone, none of which he was allowed to have.

The hardware and storage media were examined and found to contain more than 5,000 images and movies of children being abused.

Miss Collins said the vast majority of them were of victims under the age of 13 with some as young as three or four years old.

She said in May 2010 he was jailed for eight months and also put under a sexual offences prevention order.

The terms of that order meant he was not allowed to use a computer or other device without approved filter software and the permission of the police.

When he was questioned he admitted he had been downloading indecent images of children saying he couldn’t explain why he started doing it again.

Saunders pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual offences prevention order, eight counts of making and one of possessing indecent images of children.

He was jailed in 2010 after a work mate found one of his CDs of vile images lying about at work, and when police were closing in on him he threw a laptop into a river.

Graham Bennett, defending, said that during his short prison sentence he received little help for his addiction to the material he was looking at.

He said he knew that he was facing the prospect of a jail term for what he had done.

Passing sentence Judge Euan Ambrose said: “Between November 2011 and September last year, a period of about ten-and-a- half months, you searched for, sought out and downloaded no fewer than 5,672 indecent images of children.

“In all probability there were more on your computer, but the police only have resources to catalogue them so far.

“You express remorse and a desire to seek treatment. While there is no reason to suppose those expressions are not sincere, they have to be viewed against the background here of repeat offending and the manner in which you breached the sexual offences prevention order.

“These were offences committed within a relatively short time after your release from your last prison sentence.”

He jailed him for two years and eight months and imposed a new sexual offences prevention order for when he is finally released.